


Love in Full Color

by Bluspirit92



Category: Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Light Angst, Multi, POV Multiple, Past Relationship(s), Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-29
Updated: 2015-11-29
Packaged: 2018-05-03 22:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5309180
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bluspirit92/pseuds/Bluspirit92
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Buffy's soulmates haven't always had souls, and this has led to some romantic troubles for all three of them.</p><p>Nominated for best AU/human at round eleven of <a href="http://rwsawards.livejournal.com/">The Running with Scissors Awards</a>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love in Full Color

**Author's Note:**

> This is some weird soulmate au where you don't see color until you meet your soulmate, but you can have multiple soulmates and people can change so they aren't your soulmate any more, and you can see some colors sometimes without a soul and bunch of other weird rules I made up. 
> 
> Sorry if this is weird or confusing, it's my first time writing this pairing. I hope you like it!

When Buffy first met Angel, everything burst into color. It was gorgeous. He was gorgeous. He was her soulmate, true love. She had never felt more complete, she had found her other half, had found the color. And everything was happy. 

When Buffy met Spike, there was color. But not because of him. Angel had already given her color. Still, she got to enjoy a full color view of Spike before she lost everything. That was nice, she thought looking back. Though at the moment it hadn’t meant anything. 

When Angel lost his soul, the color drained from the world. It was terrible. He was terrible. She had underestimated how important the soul part of soulmates was. Without his soul, he was no longer her soulmate. They weren’t forever. Angelus wasn’t her soulmate, didn’t love her. And everything hurt. 

When Angel got his soul back, nothing changed. Everything stayed grey. She had thought she would maybe get a few seconds of color before he went away again. And then she felt guilty for thinking that. Because the color didn’t matter, just the fact that he was gone and she had sent him away. But now everything was grey. She had had that taste of color and lost it. And she’d never get it back, not even from Angel. 

When Angel left, there was no color. She thought that was why he did it. Because they had lost that beauty, that spark. He said he wanted her to find her real soulmate, be happy, have color again. But he didn’t understand. He was her soulmate. Even without the colors. She didn’t want to find someone normal who’d bring the colors back. She didn’t need the colors to be with him. She loved him. 

When Buffy met Riley there was no color. But he didn’t see color either, never had, not like her, so it was kind of okay. They both knew they weren’t soulmates, but Buffy was done with soulmates. She had lost hers, even though he lived a few hours away. And Riley didn’t believe in them. He was a soldier, a psychologist, didn’t believe in magical color matching or whatever. Which was weird because he fought vampires, but it worked for them. They weren’t soulmates and they were okay with it. But he was also okay with the vampires who weren’t his soulmates either. 

When she kissed Spike there was no color. It had already left. She remembered him in color though, and maybe that made this feel better. She never knew Riley in color. Besides, there were sparks, fire. And sometimes when they were together she could almost imagine the colors. There had been colors in heaven. 

When Spike came back there was color. And Buffy was terrified. As much as she had missed color, she didn’t want it from him. Didn’t want to be with someone who had hurt her. Didn’t believe the universe would want her to be with this man. But it wasn’t like the universe hadn’t let her down or fucked her over before. So she didn’t acknowledge the colors. And she learned to live with him. Possibly like him. But he wasn’t really her soulmate. 

When Buffy saw Spike die the colors went away. Buffy was ready and used to it this time. But she couldn’t help but hate him a bit, for giving her color for such a short time and then tearing it away with a simple “No, you don’t.” Like Angel. 

When Buffy found Spike the colors came back. Not like Angel. Spike had lasted. Stayed her soulmate through death. She loved him a little for that. For coming back and bringing color with him. 

When Buffy found Angel on the same day, the colors became better. It was like nothing she’d ever experienced. Everything was brighter and sharper and so much more beautiful. They were beautiful. She realized what had been happening. How she was meant to be with the two of them. How Angel had grown back into the man she was meant to be with. How Spike had grown into the man she was meant to be with. 

When Buffy found her soulmates, everything was happy. She had Angel back. She had Spike back. She had color back. She was in love. She was loved. 

***

When Liam lived, there was no color. There were lots of people, but no color. He got by. Made blasphemous statements about soulmates to anger his father. But he wanted to meet his. He didn’t know how color worked, so when he thought he saw something on that woman in the alley, he went willingly. 

When Angelus saw Drusilla he saw no color. Because he didn’t love her. Just the idea of her pain. He was in love with causing anyone pain. But hers was different. If any pain was ever going to bring him color, it was hers. (looking back Angel knew how sick that was)

When Angelus saw William he saw love. The tiniest hints of color like when he had met Darla. His soul trying to push back or something. But William looked at Drusilla (not Angelus) like she was his soulmate, even though that was stupid. So Angelus tried to teach him there was no such thing as soulmates. Especially for soulless things like them. Still, William’s tears were in color. 

When Angel got his soul back nothing changed. Still grey. And even though he knew he could have one now, he knew he didn’t deserve one. 

When Angel saw Buffy, there was color. It had taken more than a hundred years, and finally, color. And it let him see her. The most perfect person he had ever met. He cried that night, because when she saw him everything would stay the same, he knew. Someone like her could never be destined for something like him. Still, he’d do his best to deserve her. 

When Angel really met Buffy, she saw color. He knew, he could see it in her eyes and he wanted to cry. They were forever. They were true love. Destined. 

When Angel lost his soul, he lost the color. But by then he was Angelus, and Angelus wasn’t nearly as upset. In fact, he loved what he’d stolen from Buffy, smiled at her grayscale tears. 

When Angel got his soul back, everything was grey. He stared at Buffy and she was as gorgeous as ever, but with no color. He closed his eyes. 

When Angel came back from Hell, there was still no color. He had lost her. Had done too much, had changed too much, was even less worthy now. Not the man who could be her soulmate. And he hated himself. 

When Angel left he told himself he was doing the right thing. Yes, they loved each other. But they weren’t soulmates anymore and she deserved to find her real soulmate. Someone who was human and good and wouldn’t take the color away from her. 

When Angel saw Darla again there was no color. She didn’t see it either. But they needed each other, even if they weren’t meant for each other. So it was okay. 

When Angel loved Cordelia, there was color. Not suddenly like with Buffy. But color gradually bled into his vision. And yes she wasn’t Buffy, but that was a good thing. She was Cordelia and she was incredible and strong and his soulmate. 

When Angel lost his soul again, color disappeared again. Like the first time he didn’t care. 

When Angel got his soul back there was no color. Again. Because Buffy wasn’t for him and Cordelia was gone. And he cried. 

When Angel saw Spike, there was color. And Angel wanted to scream. Because after loving Buffy and Cordelia, now he was stuck with Spike. He was upset. He remembered William and the pieces of color, but Spike was different. He was annoying and rude and stupid and brave and beautiful and Angel loved him. But he wouldn’t admit it. 

When Angel saw Buffy next everything was fixed. The world righted itself. Spike’s color was added to, improved. But not replaced. They were finally in the right place to be soulmates again. Both him and Buffy and him and Spike. He loved both of them and they loved him.

When Angel found his soulmates, he found happiness. He had lost soulmates and gained others, but now everything was complete. 

***

When William saw Cecily there was no color. And he was okay with that. Well not at first, but later he made it romantic. True love but not even soulmates. The rarest of feelings. He had never known color. 

When William met Drusilla there was color. So much color. Red blood and black ink and he was dying but he’d never been more happy. Then she killed him and the color went away. But it was okay. He had known color with her, and the feelings had stayed even if the color didn’t.

When William met Angelus, there was something. Pieces of color. Nothing complete, but hints. So he loved both of them, Drusilla and Angel, and he was happy. He didn’t know if they saw the pieces of color too. He wished they did. 

When Spike met the slayer, there was nothing. No new colors, no hints of red. Not like he had expected any. She was Angel’s soulmate anyway. 

When Spike met Angel there was no color. He had thought maybe with the other ones soul and the pieces William had seen before that maybe there would be something. Later he realized how stupid he was. Angel had a soulmate, didn’t love him, and he had not soul. The minute of color Drusilla had given him would have to be enough. He still wanted more. 

When Angelus came back, nothing changed. Spike had learned to live with it. No matter how much he loved them, no matter how many personality changes they went though, no matter how much he hoped, he’d only ever have that one beautiful minute. 

When Drusilla left him she took the pieces of color with her. Now he didn’t even have that. She had been his soulmate. He knew that, believed that no matter how many people told him he wouldn’t love without a soul. He had a soulmate love without even having a soul. Telling himself that made him feel better. She was still gone though. 

When Spike fell in love with the slayer, there was no color. This let him deny it for a while. But then he caught a glimpse of her blond hair as she ran through a cemetery to kill something. Yeah, he was in love. She saw no color when she looked at him, he knew. But he was used to loving people without color by now. 

When Buffy died, the portal was blue and purple and white. Buffy was full color. And Dawn’s blood was red. When she died, she and the portal went away, but Dawn’s blood was still red. He didn’t know why he had had so much color then and why he still had some, but he’d give up all the color he’d ever had, that anyone had ever had just to get her back. 

When Buffy came back, there was no color. Just Dawn’s red blood. But she was back and it wasn’t like he’d had much color before. She was back. Like he’d wanted. Though she wasn’t happy, he could tell. 

When Buffy kissed him there was color. Full color. Like in the alley with Drusilla. He didn’t know how this worked. Why he got pieces of color when he was around those he loved like a soulmate even though he had no soul. Then she pulled away and the color went with her. 

When he was with Buffy there was no color. Nothing after that kiss. He could tell both of them were desperately trying for color, for connection, but it wasn’t going to happen. He didn’t like to think about that. 

When Spike got his soul there was no color. And he didn’t deserve it. So it was okay.

When Spike saw Buffy, there was color. It was like everything he remembered. It was amazing, she was amazing. And for a second there he thought he was hallucinating, because there was no way he could be her soulmate after what he had done. But the color was real, and she was real. But she didn’t want it. He could tell. Or she couldn’t see it. That would be a good punishment for him, giving him a soulmate but not having them be his soulmate back. Not enough of a punishment, he was sure, but good, a start. 

When Buffy told him she loved him, he was so glad he could see color. The fire and her face and all the beautiful colors. And he told her she didn’t because he knew he was going to take that away from her. If he was her soulmate, she was going to lose the colors because of him. He regretted this later, denying her feelings, but in the moment it seemed right. In the moment, he was happy. 

When Spike came back, he saw Angel. There was about two seconds of grey before he turned to yell at Angel, and boom, color. So Angel was his soulmate now. He didn’t really know how to feel about that. He loved Angel, but that meant that Buffy was no longer his soulmate, wherever she was. And that wasn’t right. She deserved color. But he was stuck here, and Angel was annoying and mean and funny and Spike loved him. 

When Buffy arrived, everything became better. The colors brighter and more beautiful, both of them standing there. She was still his soulmate, she still had color. Angel was still his soulmate, he hadn’t lost him.

When Spike found his soulmates, both of them looked at him like they loved him, and he thought that maybe that look was better than color.


End file.
